


U-Ta no Ai

by HamHamHeaven



Series: Greyscale [14]
Category: BUCK-TICK, Jrock
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Colorblind Soulmate AU, M/M, all of the fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-13
Updated: 2018-03-13
Packaged: 2019-03-30 21:56:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13960839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HamHamHeaven/pseuds/HamHamHeaven
Summary: Yutaka has been feeling out of sorts all week, and he can’t quite put his finger on why.





	U-Ta no Ai

**Author's Note:**

> For the DW VKYaoi community March challenge - incorporating the concept of "time" and spotlighting someone who made his debut in the 70s or 80s. Buck-Tick's first single, "To-Search", was released in 1986. Time Stamp for this is 2012.  
> 

Another sound check completed, Yutaka installs himself in the corner of a dressing room sofa, strumming absently on one of his practice basses and brooding.  He has been feeling out of sorts all week, and he can’t quite put his finger on why.  Buck-Tick’s twenty-fifth anniversary tour has been a huge success thus far.  Audiences are as enthusiastic as ever.  Lives have been going well musically, their sound more cohesive than ever before, and there haven’t been any significant technical difficulties. 

So what exactly is the problem?

He has no idea.  But _something_ is off, and apparently it’s beginning to show.  Over the past 48 hours, Imai and Toll have both taken him aside to ask if anything is wrong.  Because he’s unable to think of any sort of excuse or explanation, Yutaka tells them he’s fine… just a little tired from the travelling, that’s all.  He doesn’t want to worry them.  Imai accepts his justification without further discussion.  Toll initially seems ready to probe further, but evidently thinks better of it and simply reminds his younger brother to take his vitamin supplements.  Atsushi hasn’t spoken to Yutaka on the subject but has been sending him encouraging smiles via the stylist’s mirror for the past twenty minutes.

In fact, Hidehiko is the only person who doesn’t seem to have noticed Yutaka’s mood; though, he isn’t the type to say much of anything even if he _has_ noticed.  Hide has this habit of assuming Yutaka will come and find him if the younger needs to talk.  Which Yutaka usually _does_ … when he has anything concrete to talk about.

“Hey.”

Yutaka glances up to find Hide a few feet away watching him, as if summoned by the bassist’s thoughts.  The rest of the room is suspiciously empty.

_When did that happen?_

“Hey?” he offers in return.

“Mind if I…?”

Hide gestures at the empty sofa cushion to Yutaka’s right.  The younger man sighs and nods.

_That officially makes it all four of them aware of whatever this funk is._

Hide sits down quietly, and Yutaka goes back to plucking random arpeggios.  Nothing is said, and the longer the silence persists, the denser it becomes until the very atmosphere feels like a leaden weight resting on Yutaka’s chest, making it painful to breathe.  Impossible to speak.

Finally, Hide moves, wrapping an arm around him to draw him closer and pressing a gentle kiss to his temple.  Yutaka closes his eyes, savouring the contact, and is startled to feel the prickling sting of tears along his lash line.  It seems that the pressure of ‘whatever this is’ has been affecting him more than he realized. 

Anyone else would probably ask what’s wrong or tell him not to cry. 

Hide just holds him.

 

Once the misery has faded to the background again, Hide gives him another soft kiss and withdraws his arm for a second to retrieve something from an inner jacket pocket.  He places a polished wooden box into Yutaka’s lap and returns his arm to the bassist’s waist.

“What’s this?” Yutaka asks, dabbing at the corner of his eyes with his sleeve so he doesn’t smudge his dark liner.

Hide gives him an enigmatic smile.

“Open it.”

Mystified, Yutaka returns his bass to its stand and opens the box; inside is a beautiful platinum and gold wristwatch.

“Vital Heresy?” he queries, noticing a familiar label engraved into the lid.

“Custom piece from Ruki-san, actually,” Hide corrects.  “Happy thirtieth.”

Yutaka’s brows crease.

“It’s the twenty-fifth anniversary tour.”

“Not _theirs._ _Ours_.”

Hide’s reply causes even more confusion.

“Ours?”

Hide gives a little grunt of frustration.

“Turn it over.”

Engraved on the back of the case are the words: Now and Forever Yours.  And suddenly he understands what Hide means.

_Our anniversary!_

That life-altering moment so many years ago when two young men took their first steps along a shared path.  In the midst of tour chaos, he has completely _forgotten_ it.

“B-but… we’ve never… exchanged anniversary gifts before.”

Hide shrugs.

“We’ve never been together thirty years before either.”

The tears are stinging Yutaka’s eyes again, though the heaviness in his ribcage has been replaced by soaring effervescence.  His hands tremble a little as he tries to fasten the thoughtful gift to his left wrist, until Hide reaches out and does it for him.

“You should’ve told me we were doing gifts.  I don’t have anything to give you in return.”

Yutaka gives his soulmate a feeble push, but Hide catches him by the shoulder and tugs him in for another hug.

“You give me _everything_ , Love,” Hide murmurs into Yutaka’s gel-stiffened hair.  “Having you is all I could ever need.”

There’s so much more Hide could say.  The hugs, the kisses, and dozens of love songs he’s written over the years barely scratch the surface of his feelings.  Yet words have always felt so inadequate when it comes to expressing his devotion to his soulmate.  So he simply trusts that Yutaka will understand his heart through the silence; and fortunately, Yutaka perfectly comprehends what he means.

 

“There you two are!” Imai’s harried voice calling from the dressing room doorway draws them back to reality.  “Would you hurry up?  Curtain’s in 15!”

Oh, right.  Curtain.  Show.

They reluctantly break apart, moving to check their reflections in the mirror before following the lead guitarist out into the corridor.  The stylists and techs are all waiting in the dimly-lit wing, armed with hairspray and in-ear monitors and a flurry of last-minute instructions.

Yutaka lets the familiar bustle around him and the thrum of the crowd beyond the curtains wash over him, too focused on Hide to care about the rest of it.  Hide watches him in return, a hint of a smile turning the corner of his lips.  Just before Yutaka can stride out onto the stage, Hide’s hand finds his in the darkness.  For a moment their fingers, like their fates, entwine.

“Come on, Love,” Hide whispers against his soulmate’s ear.  “Let’s go start our next thirty years together.”

**Author's Note:**

>  **1)** Story title, "Love of U-Ta", is a play on our bassist's name and the Buck-Tick song [Ai no uta](https://youtu.be/w1LxSsf3wu8), which means "Song of Love".  
>  **2)** This plot initially happened elsewhere in-universe, but since I'd already established that B-T exists as a band, I had to choose a different pairing. Then about half-way through writing that other pairing, Yutaka raised his hand and said "No, actually, this plot is mine. They can't have it." So I salvaged what I could for these two, left the rest for the others, and now I have 2-ish fics I hadn't intended to write.


End file.
